On Thursday, the National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI) entered into partnership with the Israeli, Japanese and Nigerian companies to develop electric vehicles.
The partnership came as part of the memorandum of Understanding (MoU) the Federal Government of Nigeria signed with Israeli and Japanese companies to commence assembling and manufacturing of environmentally friendly vehicles by 2023.
The event, which took place in Abuja, marks the boldest step the Nigerian government has taken to create a path for the building of smart and green energy-based automobiles.
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Isreali Ambassador to Nigeria, Michael Freeman, said that the partnership, which combines Israeli, Japanese and Nigerian technologies, would help address the many challenges affecting the transport and environmental sectors in Nigeria. He added that the partnership would provide cheap and safe transport system to Nigeria and eventually, the rest of Africa.
“It is a project that is a partnership with Israeli, Japanese and Nigerian companies taking place in Nigeria. What is special about this project is that it is a timely project that combines Israeli technologies, Japanese technologies, Nigerian entrepreneurship and innovation together to create a project that is going to work fabulously.
“We are talking about bringing electronic Motorcycles into Nigeria which will be a programme that is green, environmentally friendly.
“It offers people a cheap way and safe way of transport and even has a technology to ensure that the motorcycles are only used for legal and appropriate purposes.
“When we look at what the problems are in the world and in also in Africa and in Nigeria, we are talking about issues of fuel scarcity, we are talking about green technology, we are talking about the need to provide cleaner, cheaper, easier transport.
“And here we are, having Israeli and Japanese companies coming together with Nigerian partners to provide cleaner, greener, newer, exciting technology that is expected to move people, population across the country.
“I believe that a programme that is going to start in Nigeria will be successful and will go across Africa,” Freeman said.
The partnership was unveiled at the same time Nigeria’s Energy Transition Plan, which has been lauded as investors’ choice, was launched. Michael Bloomberg, the billionaire founder of Bloomberg, said the Plan sends the right signals to investors and hopefully, it will inspire more countries to join the fight against climate change ahead of COP 2027.
The Nigeria Energy Transition Plan is designed to help the country to achieve net-zero emissions by 2060. Part of its objectives is to achieve carbon neutrality, end poverty through economic growth, and bring modern energy services to the entire population. The Plan also seeks to mobilize new partners by showcasing existing support for data-driven energy transition planning from international partners, including Sustainable Energy for All, The World Bank, The Rockefeller Foundation, and the Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet.
While both the MoU between Nigeria, Israel and Japan and the Nigeria Energy Transition Plan have been lauded as key steps in achieving the net-zero goal, concern remains over the dilapidated state of the needed infrastructure in the country. For instance, Nigeria is still grappling with epileptic electricity supply. Stable electricity supply is a prerequisite for successful transition to environmentally friendly automobiles.
The partnership is billed to go into effect by 2023, which is not farfetched, while Nigeria is not yet close to achieving the 40,000 megawatts needed to enable uninterrupted power supply in the country. With its current 5,000MW of electricity supply, Nigeria’s hope of achieving net-zero emission goal by 2060 is very much in doubt.